Ronn Torossian, the controversial public relations executive who has represented the who’s who of the real estate world, is the latest buyer at Zeckendorf Development’s [TRDataCustom] 520 Park Avenue.
Torossian, the founder of 5WPR, is in contract to buy a full-floor unit in the Robert A.M. Stern-designed building, the New York Post reported. It’s not clear what Torossian paid for his new digs, but StreetEasy currently lists only two full-floor units with asking prices of $20.5 million and $31.65 million.
The PR man is now perhaps best known for his dealings with those in President Trump’s orbit. Last month, Torossian penned an op-ed announcing that he testified before a Washington grand jury convened by special prosecutor Robert Mueller about his involvement with Paul Manafort. His firm also represented Sinclair Broadcasting, the largest television station operator in the U.S. that has recently been in the spotlight for requiring its anchors to read pro-Trump scripts. Politico recently ran a profile of Torossian, which detailed his association with former Bayrock Group CEO Felix Sater and Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen. In 2011, he was accused of extorting Kabbalah rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto by threatening to leak damaging financial information to the press if he wasn’t put on retainer, though he was never charged with a crime and denied the claims. In 2015, an Israeli court convicted Pinto on bribery charges, and he served a year in prison.
Torossian has also represented a number of other real estate figures, including Michael Shvo and Elie Hirschfeld. And for a time, he represented The Real Deal.
Other residents at 520 Park include billionaire Frank Fertitta, former owner of Ultimate Fighting Championship; former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond and Dyson company founder James Dyson.
In March, Zeckendorf landed a $175 million refinancing package for the building.
The projected sellout for the tower is more than $1 billion. [NYP] — Kathryn Brenzel